In a new CSIS report, Will Todman argues that renewable energy offers a different pathway with wide-reaching benefits. Based on over 175 interviews with representatives from donor governments, UN officials, local actors, and private sector implementers, Will evaluates the promise of distributed renewable energy in Iraq, Lebanon, and Yemen and Lubna Yousef tackles Libya. Even in the most challenging environments, decentralized renewable systems can accelerate local economic development, adv...

The importance of environmentally sustainable public utilities in the Middle East is an improbable topic for a Washington think tank study. Yet, many countries in the Middle East face serious challenges providing utilities in any manner to their populations, and the failure to do so is an increasing flashpoint for public dissatisfaction. This study finds that providing more environmentally sustainable services in the Middle East would be an effective way to address many citizens’ grievance...

This volume explores the varied outcomes that self-determination movements around the world have achieved, and in particular seeks to understand what factors promote better outcomes and what factors promote worse ones. Rather than focusing on the metric of achieving independence, the project evaluates the quality of societies after independence, including such elements as economic strength and political resilience, and it analyzes what factors contribute to different outcomes. The study fi...